Presidentialism 1 Flashcards
(21 cards)
Who noted that presidential democracies more likely to emerge out of military dictatorships?
Przewoski
They are also more likely to die for this reason
What phrase is used to describe the traditional need for a majority to exist in Parliamentarism?
A “MAJORITARIAN IMPERATIVE”
- outside occasional minority government, most govts enjoy the support of a majority
- Presidential regimes lack the majority imperative
- Challenged by CHEIBUB
Who demonstrated that parliamentary systems will not always produce majority governments?
STROM
How often have parliamentary systems had minority governments between 1946 and 1999?
Who demonstrated this
22% of the time
CHEIBUB et al
What does STROM think will influence the benifit that political parties see in being in office in a minority government?
How much policy influence the parties can exert out of office
What affects the amount of policy influence a party can hold out of government office?
Organisation of Parliament:
- Existence of standing committees
- allocation rules for committees
How often do Presidential systems have minority goverments?
40% of the time
What impact did Cheibub find minority government had on regime survival in presidential systems?
No impact
What does Cheibub say about deadlock?
- It does not haunt presidentialism
- Not associated with regime breakdown
- Deadlock will only occur when the prefernces of a majority cannot prevail
What legislative features can be used to overcome deadlock?
A presidntial veto
Legislative overide of the presidential veto
How many presidential democracies die due to deadlock and how many without?
1 in 26 die with deadlock
1 in 31 die when no deadlock
∴ Very little diff and challenges suggestion that this is a major feature of failure
Can deadlock occur in Parliamentary systems
Not in the sense that it can in Pres systems. If sufficient opposition formed a new majority will occur.
However can occur where there is no stable majority to take over from a failed government
What does Tsebelis say about policy change in democratic systems?
Policy change is associated with the number of actors who can veto a proposal
What evidence is there that politicians only care about being in office as a traditional argument is wrong?
The time it takes coalitions to form. This would be quick if the priority for politicians was only being in office
How many prime minister change in industrialised democracies without elections
56% change without elections
Does the argument that in presidential systems voters use their two votes independently (one on a local level, one on a national one) hold true?
No
- Evidence shows that voters do tend to associate their vote in presidential elections and legislative elections
- Would appear to mirror the use of local council elections in the UK where voting is based on national policy
What does HUBER note Prime Ministers’ selection of policies?
- HUBER notes that PMs are well positioned to obtain policies to their liking
- Hence Political parties are constrained in their ability to shape policy after govt is formed
Who says the essence of pure presidentialism is mutual independence?
STEPAN & SKACH
- Creates the possibility for a political impasse which has no constitutionally-available device to break
Why does Cheibub believe that majority coalitions are not always formed under presidential systems?
Depends on how much the opposition believes it can gain from opposing the president.
Could opposition increase vote share at next election?
In both presidential and parliamentary regimes what occurs when there is increased fractionalization of the party system?
The frequency of coalition governments increases with fractionalization of the party system
What is meant by fractionalization of the party system?
When a party is splitting into various faction proponents of different views inside a party
